1812 Re-enactment thrills Village visitors

A fundraising dance and silent auction is being organized for the benefit of Jessica (Beckstead) Blok and her young family.

Jessica, who is 19 years old, has been diagnosed with stage four cancer, and every cent of the proceeds will go to help her and her husband Dustin as they care for their six month old daughter, Autumn, through these difficult circumstances.

A committee of volunteers and the Iroquois-Matilda Lions Club have held an emergency meeting to organize the event that will take place January 10, 8 p.m., at Matilda Hall in Dixon’s Corners.

Eddy and the Stingrays will provide the entertainment.

Tony Hall, one of the organizers of the event, says Eddy and the Stingrays are donating their time to the event, so that all proceeds can go to help Jessica, Dustin and Autumn.

“That’s just fantastic,” said Hall. “Their popularity alone will mean that this could turn into a huge event, and a really big blessing for this family.”

Last week, Hall said that Jessica is not doing well. “We are hoping to have her with us as long as possible.”

If anyone wants to donate items to the auction they can do so by contacting Tony Hall (613-330-1901 or tonythomashall@gmail.com). Tickets for the benefit dance are $20 and available at Mustard’s Variety or from any Iroquois-Matilda Lions Club member.

[…]

Ten years ago, Kris and Manu Sahota bought the Loyalist Hotel in Morrisburg with hopes and dreams of a bright future for their family.

Now, a decade later, the dream has come to an end. The Sahotas have sold the hotel and will hand over the keys to an unknown buyer at the end of May.

According to Kris Sahota, a numbered company bought the hotel “as is” and their identity and plans were not revealed at the time of the sale.

He revealed that there were several contributing factors in the decision to sell the hotel, including a recent car accident which has left him less able to handle the physical requirements of running a hotel this size.

Sahota also confirmed that he has no plans to purchase or start another business in the area. 

In fact, the family of five  is considering the possibility of selling their home in Morrisburg and leaving the area altogether in pursuit of a new dream elsewhere.

As for the future of the Loyalist Hotel, all that can be confirmed at this point is that the new owner will take possession of the building on June 1st.

[…]

 The Ontario Ministry of Transportation has named Kingston’s Cruickshank Construction Limited its Paver of the Year for 2014.

The award, handed out at the Ontario Road Builders’ Association’s (ORBA) annual conference, recognizes excellence in workmanship on a hot-mix paving project completed in 2014. 

The Ministry of Transportation (MTO) names one winner and three finalists each year and judges candidates on criteria including smoothness, night paving, completion, workmanship, and mix quality.

MTO chose Cruickshank on the strength of its work on the Napanee stretch of Highway 401, a multi-year project that was completed in the fall of 2014.

“We are extremely proud of all the people whose efforts went into the winning of this award,” said CEO Steve Cruickshank. “It was a great day for Cruickshank Construction.”

Cruickshank General Manager Roger Coulas accepted the award at ORBA’s annual conference on February 10th in Toronto.

[…]